Tolbeet lanston



(No Model.)

'I'. LANSTON.

PRODUGmG JUSTI'PIED LINES 0F TYPE. No. 364,521.

Patented June '7, 1887.

` In ag-tor. z

W/i-rzesses, 7

Ny PETERS. Phulolilhugnpher, Wnshirgglnn, D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

TOLBERT LANSTON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESN E ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE LANSTON TYPE MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

PRODUCING JUSTIFIED LINES OF TYPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 364,521, dated June 7, 1887.

Original application tiled September 30, ISST). Serial No. 178,671. Divided and this application filed July 3, 11286. Serial Nov 207,156. (No modem To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, ToLEERr LnNsToN, of Vashingtomin the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Forming Justitied Lines of Type; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,

and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

Vhile astonishing progress has been made in those branches ofthe art of printing which relate to the taking of impressions and to the folding and delivery of the matter printed, but comparatively little practical advance has been made in that department which relates particularly to the setting up and justification of the lines from which the impressions are to be made. i

Type-setting machines of more or less efliciency, it is true, have been employed to assemble the types; but even where such machines have been successfully used, it has always been found necessary to subject each line of composition to a process of justification involving, usually, the introduction, by suitable mechanism, or by hand, of additional spaces,

or of thesubstitution of wide for narrow spaces, and vice versa, much the same as in the case of matter set up by hand. It has also been proposed to produce solid lines of justified composition by justifying the dies or molds which produce them, and this justification is performed in the ordinary manner above referred to.

My invention is a wide departure from the previous methods, and proceeds upon a principle which I believe to be radically new.

Instead of producing aline of composition and then justifying it, I form my types for a given line in such manner as to cause them, when assembled, to form a complete justified line ready for printing direct or for making an impression for stereotype or electrotype p`urposes without further manipulation.

It is well known that in ordinary compost tion, where common type is used, it rarely ever happens that a series of words, uniformly and regularlyspaced, exactly fill a line of 5o given length, the rule being that a space of greater or less length is left at the end of the line which must be lled up or absorbed in the process of justification. Now, since it is apparent that in every case this unoccupied space at the end of the line must bear a certain relation to the part of the line filled by the characters-or, in other words, represent a certain percentage of the combined width of such characters-it follows that if there be 5o added to the normal width of the body of each of the assembled types a percentage of in crease corresponding to the percentage which said unoccupied space represents to the occupied space, tlie line composed of types so formed will be rendered selfjustifying. To illustrate this, suppose the unoccupied space in a line required to be taken up by justification represented one per cent. of the part of the line filled by type of the normal width, 7o the addition of one per cent. to the normal width of the body of each of such assembled type would cause this space to be taken up or absorbed, one per cent. addition to the width of each section or part of the assembled type being equal to one per cent. ofthe whole aggregated width of said type.

Instead of thus adding to each type a certain percentage of the width thereof, the same result can be accomplished either by apportion- So ing the unoccupied space in the line equally among all the types therein, and thus adding to all the types a certain uniform and denite increase in width-say a one five-hundredth of an inch to each, or by apportioning the unoc- S5 cupied space in the line equally among the space-types between words contained therein by adding an equal amount of increase to the normal width of cach of such spaces value.

Theimproveinentin the art,which I desire to cover herein, consists, broadly stated, in first ascertaining the length of the proposed line of matter; secondly, ascertaining the space which would be required to be filled by justification if types of normal or standard size were einployed; and, thirdly, forming a series of types for the line, the bodies of which or of some ot' which are varied as to width from the normal au amount sufficient in the aggregate to space required to be iilled by vices, regarding a mere reference to my application No. 178,671, filed September 30, 1885, `(of which this is a division,) wherein is shown a competent mechanism, as sniiicient.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a fac-simile of an impression taken from type` of standard dimensions and of a style known as double English, this variety of type being selected because of its large size and the resulting convenience in graphically representing the hereinafter-described modes of carrying out the invention. c Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic Viewr representing an unjustified line comprising the characters shown in Fig. 1,the types being shown in outline and on a scale of 2 to 1. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view representing the same characters illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, justied according to what I term the percentage-ofvariation system.77 Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the line justied according to what I term the system of uniform variation.77 Fig. 5 is a similar lView illustrating a modification of thesysteni shown in Fig. 4, the variation being apportioned among the space types or quads only. Fig. 6 is a view of aportion of a form oftypes composed of lines4 produced in accordance with my invention.

Similar letters, and numbersA in the several gures indicate corresponding parts.

For a clear conception of my invention, let the interval between the points lettered a and c, Fig. 2, represent the length of the proposed line of composition assumed to be the width of the column. fIhe interval between a and b, thespace occupied by the unjustitied line of types of normal or standard size (shown in Fig. 1) and the interval between Z1 and c the space to be filled by justification.

As the space between b and c represents a' certain percentage of the space between a and b, it follows that if to each division of the space u a b there be added a corresponding percentage of its width the result will be the filling out of the line. It is also true that the distance from. b to c bears a fixed relation tothe number ofdivisions ofthelinea b. Hence,ifto each division is added its proportional part of the line b c, the result will be, as before, the filling out of the line.

An illustration of the application of my invention by what I term the percentage-ofvariationsystem7 is represented diagrammatically in Fig.

The space b-c, Fig. 2, to be filled byjustitication is approximately ten per cent. of the space a b. Hence,if there be added to each subdivision of the space represented by the line a b,- or, in other words, to each of the twentythree normal types which I have found would be contained in said space, ten per cent. of its width, the line Will be lled ont orjustifed.

In producing types which will, when associated together, exactly fill out: the linea c, it is therefore only necessary that they be constructed ofa width ten per cent. above the normal. This process has been followed in the making of Fig. 3, the types there being represented, as nearly as practicable, as increased in width ten per centabove the types shown in Fig. Y2.

An illustration of the application of my in vention by what I terni the system of uniform variation -is represented diagrammatically in Fig. 4. In this system,instead of forniing the type composing the line of a width increased above the normal on the percentage plan, the space to be titled byjustitieation is distributed uniformly among them -that is to say, each of the types for the line is made of a Widtlrinereased above the normal an amount equal to the space to be filled by justification divided bythe number of type which would compose the unjustified line. Thus, as represented in Fig. 4, each type is shown of a size increased above the normal types shown in Fig. 2 one twentythird of the space between b c, the result being that when assembled they fully occupy the line a c.

As is obvious, instead of distributing the increase among all the types in the line, whether by the system of uniform variation or the percentageof-increase system, it may be apportioned among certain of them only-as, for example, among the space type or quads. `An example of this is shown in Fig. 5, in which the spacetypes 2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 1G, and 2l are each made of a width increased above the normal, as indicated in Fig. 2, one-seventh of the space I) c to be filled by justification, the other types in the line being made of normal size.v

In carrying out my invention, by whichever of the systems indicated, it should be understood that the types for each line of composition are formed with special reference tov the needs of that line alone, and the several lines are associated together in forms, so that iinpressions may be taken from them, either for direct printing, or for forming` matrices for stereotype or electrotype purposes.

The variation in the widths of the types referred to herein relate solely to variations in the bodies and not to the impression-faces thereof, Which remain normal; and in this connection it may be stated that in the production of lines of ordinary-size type the variations are so slight as to be imperceptible to the eye, while uniformity ofspacing is attained in greater perfection than can be secured in ordinary hand-composition wherej ustitication Y IOO IIS

is eHected by the employment of spaces or quads varying in width and unequally distributed.

The pereentageof-increase system and the system involving the variation of the space types or quadsare claimed specifically in other divisional applications led by me-i. e., Nos. 207,157 and 207,158--and the lines and forms of matter produced in accordance with my invention are specifically claimed in still another divisional application, No. 207,159.

1. The hereindescribed improvement in the art of producingjustied lines of type, which consists in ascertaining the space in a line required to be filled by justification if types of a normal or standard size were used and then making in succession the types for the proposed line, the bodies of the desired number of said types being varied from normal as to Width an amount equal in tlie aggregate to the ascertained space required to be filled by justification, whereby each line is formed by a continuous process from beginning to end of a succession of types specially made for it, which just lill it out and which require no manipulation or disturbance Whatever to eiect the ljustification of said line.

2. The herein-described improvementin the TOLBER'I LANSTONn Witnesses:

THOMAS DURANT, FRED F. CHURCH. 

